Understanding Military Culture

In conclusion, this podcast shined light on a lot of issues service members and veterans experience while risking their lives for our country. Most importantly, it shined light on how social workers can help this populations. Dr. Figley stated that social workers can assist veterans with adjustment issues after deployment by understanding what happened to them; what they lived through; and it will take time for them to adjust to a new environment. Understanding those key concepts will allow us as social workers to work more effectively with the military

On average, military social workers see hundreds of clients a year and this number is increasing as they work to remove the stigma surrounding mental health treatment in the

The Navy has had few leaders who completely transformed the service branch in its entirety. Hyman G. Rickover was one of those individuals. ADMIRAL RICKOVER REVOLUTIONIZED NAVAL WARFARE WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, PROMOTED SAFETY AS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM, CHANGED THE CULTURE OF THE NAVY, AND WAS A TRANSFORMATIVE LEADER WITH UNIQUE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT PERMANENTLY ALTERED THE SUBMARINE COMMUNITY.

Many social workers during their career will work with clients who have served or are currently serving in the Military and/or with family members of a Service Member or Veteran. According to the NASW Code of Ethics (2008), a social worker should only practice within their areas of competence and be continuously developing and enhancing their professional expertise. If social workers are to serve military personnel and veterans effectively and efficiently, a basic understanding of the United States military is critical. I believe that in order to gain this competence a social worker working with military personnel and veterans should have and continue to develop awareness and understanding about military culture by looking at history, traditions,

When working with service members, their families and veterans it is essential that as a social worker, I understand and respect the military culture. Cultural sensitivity is very essential when interacting with the military community. The military represents a unique cultural group with its own language, behaviors, and beliefs (Luby, 2012). The military is its own diverse community and is made up of different ethnic groups, gender, sexual orientation and spirituality. Globalization is rapidly happening in our society and this type of globalization is also visible within the military community. Being social workers, we will be working in communities that

Social workers in all branches of the military are helping families and military personnel prepare for, and cope with, the hardships of war. They do so through a range of preventive and clinical services provided by the Veteran Administration with many different types of programs, including family-support and mental-health counseling. The mission statement of the VA Social Workers is to eliminate significant barriers to clients in need and offer interventions for veterans and families. It is accomplished by developing and maintaining integrated, in-depth programs in patient care, research, and education.

Civilians need to help remedy the problem of isolation through psychoeducation by helping elevate the problem of emasculation by educating and informing male military spouses about their worth in our nation’s security efforts. Simply, civilians need to learn about military culture; rather than polarizing both worlds we need to find and accept the fact that we live in this one

In this article, Wooten states that a military social work is a specialized practice area, which differs from generalized practice with civilians. The main difference is our military personnel and veterans receive health care and social benefits in a hierarchical environment based on the structure of the military, whereas civilians do not. She goes on to state our veterans should receive the care they deserve by professionals who can provide both military relevant and culturally responsive evidence-informed services. Wooten describes military social work a specialized field of practice as having “high performance expectations, personal demands, standards of order and discipline, occupational hazards, and organizational culture and climate that

Savitsky, L. (2009). Civilian Social Work: Serving the Military and Veteran Populations. Social Work, 54(4), 327-339.

Many studies stressed the importance of directing military connected families to helpful resources because a military culture of self-reliance often prevents military connected individuals from acknowledging the helpfulness of outside treatment to problems that may be more severe than they realize (Becker et al. 2014; Drummet, Coleman, and Cable, 2003; Flittner O'Grady et al., 2015; Gerwirtz, Pinna, Hanson, and Brockberg 2014; Harrison and Vannest, 2008; Kudler and Porter, 2013). Additionally, many studies mentioned the need for educators to learn more about military culture to support their students (Drummet, Coleman, and Cable, 2003; Harrison and Vannest, 2008; Jagger and Lederer, 2014; Kudler and Porter, 2013; Mmari etal. 2009). Having a better understanding of the lives of military connected students will lead to better relationships between teachers and families. Another way schools can support military connected students is to establish, or encourage students to establish, peer support groups. Participants of many studies stated that peer support groups were the most

As with all social work endeavors, a client’s SES, culture, ethnicity, education level, age, and social capital needs to be addressed at all stages of psychological treatment. To disregard the relevancies of any of these traits from the veteran’s background would be detrimental in attending, diagnosing, and developing a care plan for the veteran. Above all, the above markers provide a base to meet

Over the last 14 years, the United States has undergone the longest era of war in its history, yet that era of conflict has had little to no personal impact on the lives of average Americans (Zucchino). For countless cultures and millennia, military forces have served as something of a microcosm of society, with the gulf between military and civilian cultures sometimes seeming completely unnavigable. In recent years, however, the void between American military life and civilian America has been expanding immensely. Where does that socio-cultural dissonance come from, and what does it mean for the future of American politics and military relations? What can be done to bridge the gap? Examining these truths, we can determine the deeply felt impacts of war, not just on those directly involved, but also in the relationship between civilians and the military.

Serving in the military has been a proud tradition in my family. Both of my grandfathers served in the military. My grandpa Richard served in the Army Air Corps flying bombers during World War II, and my grandpa Ron was a parachute rigger while in the Navy during Vietnam. They both impressed on me the positive effect military service has had on their lives and communicated that they believed choosing to join up was one of the best decisions they ever made. They were both deeply patriotic men who believed that it was an honor and a duty to defend our country in times of conflict. It is now my turn to follow in their footsteps and step up to the challenges that face our nation.

The social perspective of psychology can be applied to veterans with PTSD due to all the influences that surround each and every one of us daily. Veterans face three primary problems as they attempt to access care. The requirement that they have either an honorable or general discharge to receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, the long waitlist for care, problems related to seamlessly transitioning from active-duty military care systems to the veterans’ care system, and Social barriers to care-seeking behavior related to military culture.(American Public Health Association [APHA], 2016) Because of these three issues social perspective would help address why veterans feel the stigma as well as to understand how veterans are affected

This article presents about providing family therapy to Military families and other vulnerable populations. It explains about many military families are increasing the opportunity to seek clinical social workers for preventing and managing adverse outcomes in their families. The article utilized a clinical case using the contextual model and it explains about effective treatments. I believe this is a useful source because it provides an example of a military family and the process of using a model that supplies resources and